iTWire - Digital assistants more often used in homes than smartphones: survey

Global consulting firm Accenture notes that stand-alone, AI-powered digital voice assistant devices are being used "for a range of consumer services such as playing music, turning the heat and lights on and off, and providing news, weather and sports scores." That's to be expected, of course - that's what they're for - but in an online survey of 21,000 consumers in 19 countries, Accenture discovered that digital virtual assistants are becoming "the central hub for home activities in Australia." Again, that's the whole point of digital assistants - they're meant to be the hub of your digital home, not just answering questions but helping you control your other connected devices, but naturally, it's always good to see this being confirmed by actual users. In addition, "three quarters (75%) of these owners said they use their smartphones less for entertainment, more than two thirds use them less for online purchasing and more than half for general information searches (71% and 55%, respectively)." David Sovie, global MD of Accenture's High Tech business said: "Digital voice assistant devices are challenging smartphones as the central hub for all activities in the home. "These low-cost devices deliver valuable and practical benefits and are relatively easy to use, and their rapidly growing popularity is one of the most striking trends in the high-tech industry." Accenture tells us its survey shows that "ownership levels of digital voice assistant devices in Australia are projected to increase more than five times this year, reaching 23% by the end of 2018 from 4% in 2017.